From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Chungking Mansions (重慶大廈) is a famous building in Hong Kong. It is located at 36-44 Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui. Chungking Mansions is an accomodation which charges very cheap. It usually does not provide complimentary shuttle service going to or from airport. Tourists can still get to Chungking Mansions by various kinds of transportation easily, for example: MTR, several airport buses or taxi. If tourists travel to Hong Kong from China by trains, the best and fast way to reach Chungking Mansions is by taxi from Hung Hom train station, due to the reason that it only takes a few minutes to Tsim Sha Tsui. RE: You can get there by Bus A21 in the airport
The Chungking Mansions feature a labyrinth of guesthouses, curry messes, sweat-shops, and sari stores. It is a interesting building that many Indians and foreign people (most likely from Middle East countries as Africa, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, but also have Chinese, whites and blacks) gather there. The building was completed in 1961 and at that time most residents were Chinese. Now, it has nearly 4,000 people lodging in the Mansions, which is mainly because of the cheap lodging fee of the Mansions. That is why many foreign workers love to stay there.
In fact, Chungking Mansions are not only famous for their low lodging fee, but also as they provide a chance for cultural interchange of people from different nations. Indeed, Chungking has now become a symbol of culture integration in Hong Kong.
Not just that, the unique identity of Chungking Building also attracts the interest of film director. A famous Hong Kong director, Wong Kar-wai, has chosen Chungking Mansions as the setting of one of his award winning film, Chungking Express in 1994.
However, on the other hand, Chungking Mansions have their dark face. Because of their cheap lodging and convenient location, Chungking Mansions attract the interest of illegal immigrants. The Hong Kong police can raid hundreds of illegal immigrants lodging in Chungking Mansions every year. An example of Illegal Immigrants caught by police is shown as the following: Yahoo HK news 2004-01-19
Not only this, prostitution, drug dealing, robbery, thief also happens in Chungking Mansions frequently. One example is shown as the follows: Yahoo HK news 2004-02-04
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Photos are taken by Igarashi Taro and are kindly adapted from IGARASHI Taro Photo Archives 9 and http://www.ypmap.com/photo/normal/HOTELS/HTL8M-3.JPG
